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Review
. 2023 Feb 13:3:1123969.
doi: 10.3389/fneph.2023.1123969. eCollection 2023.

The evolution of social media in nephrology education: A mini-review

Mythri Shankar  1 , Matthew A Sparks  2   3
Affiliations
Review

The evolution of social media in nephrology education: A mini-review

Mythri Shankar et al. Front Nephrol. .

Abstract

Social media is defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content". Social media can be used in medical education to enhance knowledge sharing among peer groups and the public in general. The internet revolutionized learning by allowing easier dissemination of knowledge that did not depend on printing and physical distribution of books, journals, or magazines. According to a report from 2018, 95% of students have access to smartphones and 45% are online at any given time. Social media platforms are powerful tools to spread knowledge by the way of stories, videos, and educational games. Both formal and informal learning can be achieved with the use of social media. The microblogging website Twitter has become a popular social media platform by many in medical education including the nephrology community. Twitter, for example, is used to build communities, discuss journal articles, inform the community of conferences, share infographics and visual abstracts of original research work. As an example, it can be difficult for women in nephrology to connect and travel to make a physical presence. The use of social media allows women to connect via webinars and Women in Nephrology (WIN) India live Twitter chats. Thus, social media can help facilitate networking and collaboration with nephrologists all over the world. Social media has limitations as well. Insensitive posts can have a detrimental effect on one's career. A survey has shown that increased use of social media can contribute to addiction, anxiety, diminished self-esteem, and even depression. Hence, in order to effectively use social media to contribute positively to one's career, we recommend considering the positive and negative aspects of social media.This review will discuss the various social media platforms and how they have been applied to nephrology education.

Keywords: Facebook; Twitter; blogs; medical education; social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

MAS reports receiving honoraria from Elsevier–Nephrology Secrets; serving as a scientific advisor or member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Board, Board of Directors, NephJC; serving on the editorial boards of American Journal of Kidney Diseases, ASN Kidney News, Kidney360, Advances in Kidney Health and Disease, and Kidney Medicine; serving as program director of the Nephrology Social Media Collective Internship; serving as associate director of NephSIM Nephrons; and serving on KCVD Membership & Communications Committee of AHA, KCVD Scientific & Clinical Education Lifelong Learning Committee of AHA, and the National Kidney Foundation North Carolina Medical Advisory Board. MS is Associate Program Director of Nephrology Social Media Collective, Glomcon Instructor, Member - ISN Education, ISN young, ISN social media team, ISN ACT trial, Secretary - WIN - India Karnataka Chapter. Member of Editorial board - Kidney medicine, KIReports, Glomcon pubs.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Various modes of social media.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interactive learning.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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